


Entangled Strings

by xxxDreamingflowerxxx



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dark, Ayato has a slight sibling complex, Blood and Gore, Comfort/Angst, Dark Past, F/M, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Fluff and Humor, Kirishima power!, Lots of Touka and Ayato Sibling Teasing, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Romantic Angst, Romantic Fluff, Sibling Bonding, Slow Romance, Some Characters Will Be OoC, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-04-30 19:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5177075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxxDreamingflowerxxx/pseuds/xxxDreamingflowerxxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story of two people, one who lives to fulfil a promise and one who lives to fulfil a mission. Thanks to never ending threads of circumstances, the two meet; a meeting that influences more people than you can imagine and shows that humanity doesn't exists in humans only.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Time to post my next story here. Not sure what to say here, except that this will be a very long story. This is an AU, so it will take a completely different turn from the manga and anime. While the majority of the characters will keep their roles, there will also be slight changes. I will focus mostly on the relations between the characters since that's practically the key point of this story. Anyway, enjoy the story!
> 
> Original publish date: 2/14/2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prologue has been edited. Grammar, spelling etc. have been fixed. Credits goes to Angry Pencil Wielder from Fanfiction, who was sweet enough to fix the grammar and spelling errors and for giving suggestions.

This is how I met your mother...'

The sentence every child hears at least once during their childhood. One would never think much about it as children have only interest in playing and having fun. Never would they realize that the time would come where they will be the main characters in such a story. You're young, no need to think about the future... But... Not every child has that privilege.

Tokyo was a metropolis. And like any metropolis, there are creatures who lurk between the bright and dark places of the Japanese city, hidden from human sight; monsters in human disguise.

Ghouls.

Years ago, a group of humans decided to stand up against the threat of the ghouls. And thus, the Commission of Counter Ghoul was born. The abbreviated CCG's mission was to kill every single ghoul, be they man, woman, elderly, or children.

The slaughter of their parents resulted in many ghoul children becoming orphaned, being abandoned into the world of conflict and fighting. If they wanted to survive, they'd have to fend for themselves and hide from the public eye, away from those who robbed them of their family. Even their own kind became a danger to the young and unprotected. Amongst more violent ghouls, cannibalising the weak was common.

Such was the life for a ghoul.

If one was lucky, they could establish a normal life among the humans, living a peaceful life. But the moment their nature became revealed, the ghoul was good as dead if they didn't flee.

Such was the life for a ghoul.

If one was lucky, they could establish a normal life among the humans, living a peaceful life. But the moment their nature became revealed, the ghoul was good as dead if they didn't flee.

_'It's the one promise that you have to keep, it's the only thing left... If you want to live peacefully and happy, then, for now, please life among humans, away from the danger and conflict...'_

_'I will, it's the only solution. I will do my best, for me, for us... For my family.'_

_'As long as were together, I don't care about anything else. I have to take care of you, you; who is the only one I have left.'_

_'You wanted me to keep smiling, so I will. Even if you're not here anymore, I will smile through my life. I will prove that your sacrifice wasn't in vain. My existence is my gratitude.'_

_'If I want to survive, I have to fight. To fight and eat! To have a place in this rotten world. To eat is to survive, to eat is to get stronger, to eat is to live! Just so I can have some meaning in this useless life... I will fight and kill anyone who stands in my way.'_

This is a story of two people, who, despite the cosmic chances stacked against them, somehow managed to meet.

Their meeting affected more than they could ever imagine...

But is that enough? Life is never gentle, especially to those who must murder to stay alive.

Doomed by their very birthright, every hardship will stand between them until their long journey comes to an end.


	2. What The Rain Brings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of an introduction chapter so you guys can have a slight idea about the current lives of the main protagonists. Since it's an AU there will be quite some changes and some things will stay the same. Plot wise, it is different. Character wise, some may act differently than they would do in the manga, but that's mostly because of the chance of upbringing, events and circumstances.
> 
> The story may feel slow in the beginning, but it's all for the building of this story.

It was raining heavily, but the streets were still filled with people; students on their way to school, adults starting their day of work, young parents with their children, elderly enjoying their old peaceful days. A vast variety of people walked through the streets of the 20th ward, no one would pay much attention if someone suspicious were to walk between the crowds.

A young man stared up at the sky, his face getting soaked in the rain. The man looked no older than 19, his eyes were blank, but there was a slight inkling of emptiness and melancholy present. He wore a dark grey coat, perfect for this time of the year and a hoodie, to catch as little attention as possible. His pants were nothing special, just some ordinary blue jeans. He kept his hands in his pockets. The teen looked like an average university student if that was the case. Not that anyone would think otherwise.

After staring at the sky for a while the man sighed and continued walking, keeping a close eye on the people passing by, trying to find anything suspicious.

It was his first time in the 20th ward, as it was rumoured to be docile, but you know what they say about rumours, they're not always accurate. This was probably one of the few times where they were right.

"It was no understatement." He muttered as he glanced around the crowd.

It felt odd to him, maybe a slight feeling of nostalgia, but mostly, it disgusted him, how was it possible for a quiet place like this to exist in Tokyo? No heavy feeling of dread or battles were present here, even the rain didn't feel as gloomy as the other wards. Unlike the other wards, this one was filled with life. He didn't understand and he didn't like it. How was it possible to live an ignorant life, those fools. But he shouldn't complain, after all, he was only here for one and only one reason. After he finished what he came to do here, he'd leave as fast as possible.

"That person was spotted around here last time..."

He continued on to his destination. A place where it was easy to collect any information about the ward, a café known as Anteiku.

* * *

The rain had its advantages and disadvantages. The advance was that most people would go home immediately, thus, pointless conversations would be avoided, another one was that it would erase every trace of you, be it blood or something else.

A 17-year-old girl was running through the streets, hoping to arrive at her home quickly. After a few minutes of trying to not run into any passerby, she arrived at an apartment and quickly entered the building. The girl quickly opened the doorknob of her apartment. Her short, blue hair was soaking wet and sticking to her face and neck like her coat and pants were sticking to her body.

The girl sighed as she quickly took off her coat and her shoes. "I'm home!"

A boy; a bit younger than her appeared in the hallway, he looked similar to the girl. Short unruly blue hair and dark eyes. He had a look of boredom. The boy looked at the girl and smirked. "Seems like your outing went just perfect, aneki!"

"Shut up Ayato!" The girl growled. "It wasn't raining so hard when I left!"

"It's your own fault for not paying attention to the weather. Besides, why do you even bother with that shit? You're not obliged to do anything for them."

"May I remind you the reason we're able to live comfortable like this?" Ayato's sister retorted.

The boy snorted. "You're being taken advantage off!" He turned around and returns to the room he came from. "Don't forget to dry yourself Touka!"

The girl known as Touka huffed. "As if I don't know that." She grumbled.

The teen quickly entered the bathroom and prepared a dry set of clothes for herself. She tossed her soaked ones into the corner and entered the shower. She felt her cold muscles relax under the warm water. Oh, how she wished time would stop so she could enjoy the warm water provided by her house, sadly, that wasn't possible.

The girl quickly got out of the shower and put on some clean pants and a sweater. When she entered the living room, she found her brother sitting on the couch, watching television with a lazy expression on his face.

"You skipped school again, didn't you?" Touka asked, giving the younger boy a sceptical glance.

"So what? It's not like it will help us." Her brother answered. Irritation present in his voice. "Besides, what does it matter? If I show up for those stupid exams and pass its fine! At least, I don't need to eat that disgusting human food to pretend!"

Touka sighed. "You pass them barely and human food is the least of your worries. You can throw it up again in the toilet!"

Ayato snorted and returned his expression towards the television. "Who the fuck cares about those stupid humans? Even you, who pretends to be the better one of us, hardly interacts with them and we both know why!"

The sister shot a glare at her sibling. "If you cause a commotion like last time the old man will scold us again, do you really want that?"

"Tche!" Ayato grunted. He turned his attention back to the television.

Touka decided that it was futile to try anything else and left towards her room.

"Aneki, I got us some food for the next couple of weeks. So, you don't have to go out anymore..." Ayato said from his spot, eyes still focused on the television.

Touka's face softened upon hearing her brother's words. A smile crept on her face. Despite his rebellious nature, she knew he was kind. "Thanks, Ayato, make sure you're ready in one hour."

The boy scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, I have to make up for what I did."

His sister said nothing and threw some clothes in his face. After some grumbling and insults, Ayato took the clothes from his face and stared at them in disgust. "Ugh."

"Don't complain, if I have to compensate for our luxuries, you should also! Besides," the girl's mouth turned into a smirk. "Be glad you have your onee-chan to guide you through your new job."

Her smirk widened as Ayato's cheeks turned pink at the girl's mention his past addressing for his sister.

He glared at her. "Shut up, shitty aneki."

"Stop being a brat and get ready!"

Ayato got up from the couch and slumped into his room reluctantly mumbling and cursing on the way. Mentioning something about a stupid old man.

Touka watched her brother disappear and sighed. At least, he had become a bit more cooperative. She didn't blame him for his attitude and disgust. She was the same, they both were known as troublemakers in the 20th ward. They may have calmed down a little the past couple of months, the two were nowhere near saints, as their disgust and distrust for humans were hard to overcome after all the hardships they had to endure in their short lives.

"After all... We are..."

* * *

 

"GHOUL!"

A man backed away against the corner of a street, face completely pale, horror was written all over it. He was covered in bruises from stumbling various times and bumping against hard objects. A figure stood in front of him, face covered in a dark mask and a hoodie, which made it impossible it see the face or expression the person made. The figure took a step closer as its victim took one back at the same time.

"L-LEAVE ME ALONE... MONSTER!"

The masked figure snickered. **"A monster? Heh, quite ironic. Since it was you, who tried to harm me first, so it's only fair if I fight back, right?."**

The man let out a scream, but was quickly silenced by a tentacle that came from the figure's back, leaving the victim gurgling and coughing blood. After one more fear filled stare at his attacker, the man's head flew off straight against the wall with a splat.

The figure sighed. "Ow well, I was about to go out to hunt later anyway." He walked over to the dead body, taking off his hoodie and mask to show white strands and two different eyes; one olive coloured eye, like a human eye and the other had a black sclera and a red iris, giving the look of a predator glaring down at its victim. The ghoul crouched over and stared at the head that lay a few meters away. A melancholic expression crept on his face. "Your kind steals and kills for pleasure, you even engulf yourself in delight at the sight of making those who are weaker suffer, humans like yourself, you betray those next to you to satisfy your own greed and yet... You call us, who have to kill to survive monsters?" A sour chuckle escaped the ghoul's lips. "Very tragic."

The man took the body, taking a bite from a finger and recovered the head. He looked up to the sky, gazing at the grey clouds covering the sky. "This is going to take longer than I though it would be." He jumped against the wall and jumped again, until he reached the rooftops and disappeared from the alley. No need to be worried about the blood, the rain washes away all traces anyway.

* * *

Every day is a struggle; you wake up, wondering what today's day will bring. You continue with your daily routine, without knowing what happens around you, or what will happen later and before you know it, you have to say goodbye to that life. Thousands of people undergo the same fate every day, whose fault is that? Humans, ghouls or both?

"Ayato, you'll be late for your first day!"

"What difference are 5 minutes and stop yelling at me, stupid aneki!"

As the rain keeps pouring gently over the unsuspecting citizens of the 20th ward who continue their daily life, without knowing how fast their lives can change in one second.

_You never know what the rain will bring you and when it does, it'll change your life forever for the better or for the worse._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the chapter's title: They are as important as a plot and title of the story, since some have hidden messages others tell the chapter in a nutshell. In this case, it's a hidden message, I kinda explained it at the end of the chapter, but well, I'd call it irony. A story can be compared to gears of a machine powered up by the rain, like a windmill; it starts turning slowly, but once it has built enough power it'll go straight forward! In this case, the rain is more referring to Kaneki's arrival at the 20th ward. No surprise, I guessed everyone figured it was Kaneki since I didn't even made any effort to hide it. But that line was completely coincidence! Maybe my subconscious knew, but I wasn't paying attention.


	3. Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter as I promised.

Today would be a day, hard to forget for any regular of 20th ward's Anteiku café. Not because the male customers favourite waitress finally returned, but because of her little brother, who became an official employee and cared less about putting a poker face in front of the customers than his sister did. Which ended in a dispute between the siblings.

"For the last fucking time, you don't glare at the customers! No matter how rude they look!"

"Why the hell should I allow a weakling like that shit to look down on me?! Respect has to be earned!"

"Then, try to earn it brat! Do you want to be scolded by the manager again?!"

The younger ghoul grunted.

As the two ghoul siblings continued their dispute, two figures stood in the doorway observing the two. One was a dark blonde-haired male and the other was black-haired female, they were both wearing uniforms,

Clearly much older than the bickering brother and sister.

"Ah, family fights and they keep denying that they look a lot like each other." The male sighed.

"They're young, what else would you expect, besides, we used to be like them... Even worse." The female answered.

"You got a point there."

"Enji, Irimi, would you please return to your posts. We still have customers who are waiting to be served."

The duo turned around to see an old man standing behind them, he, like the other workers, was also wearing a uniform. The man had a gentle expression on his face and an aura of authority. It was very clear that he was leading the place.

"Alright, Yoshimura-san."

The two left, leaving Yoshimura with the bickering siblings, whose argument started to escalate. The old man walked over to them and separated the siblings. "Enough, the customers are starting to notice. Touka-chan, aren't you supposed to be more responsible, being the oldest and Ayato-kun, you should show respect to the customers, even if they don't return it. We can't have any trouble here."

Ayato scowled but nodded reluctantly. His sister showed more regret. "Sorry for the trouble." She bowed though she wasn't that happy either.

"Good, now return to your duties," Yoshimura smiled as he dismissed the two. "Ah and Touka-chan, I need you to do me a favour."

The girl looked at the man curiously and nodded while she told her brother to go on ahead. "What is it?"

"We're almost out of coffee beans again." 

* * *

"It should be somewhere around here..."

The problems most people have whenever they arrive at a new place, is finding the way. The white-haired ghoul had the same problem, but that was due to his little hold up with the human. He took out a crumpled paper from his pocket and tried to read the notes, which was a pain, due to the rain soaking the paper.

"Things never go the way you want it when it's necessary." He muttered.

The man sighed and decided to use his luck as he put the paper in his pocket someone bumped against him, making him stumble.

"I' sorry!"

He wanted to retort, but the figure was already running, as if he was in a hurry. A dark lock caught his eye, but before he could register something else he noticed a suspicious man passing him quickly, what caught his eye was the briefcase the man was holding.

The ghoul sighed. Those pests are here too, apparently. He looked at the direction the two had gone and back in the direction they had come from. It would be troublesome to draw attention, but...

"Well, let's get this over with..." 

* * *

The footsteps were approaching, he was getting close...

How the hell was this possible? She was supposed to finish the manager's request and return to her job. She'd never guessed that she would encounter a dove, and it had to be the small fry she and her brother clashed some time ago. They should have killed him, if it wasn't for Yoshimura interfering.

Touka had immediately looked for an alley, somewhere safe from an outsider's view. She hid herself in the darkest corner, hiding away her presence and waited for the investigator to enter her trap. Just one surprise attack would be enough to kill him.

The footsteps had quiet down, but she knew her target had caught up with her, she could smell him, feel him.

"There is no point in hiding! Come out!" The dove said.

She felt her body trembling, as if a dark memory of her past was about to be recalled. She took a deep breath and braced herself, getting ready to strike, but as soon as she lunged at the attacked, she was grabbed by a strong hand. Her eyes widen in surprise when their eyes met. 

* * *

A slim waist, decently developed hips and a stare that quickly turned into a glare. He felt killing intent in the alley, but he didn't expect it to be from a girl.

"Could you please let go of me." A female voice asked, irritation was clearly present in her voice.

The white haired ghoul snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, I'm sorry." He quickly let go of his hold on her, but his gaze was still aimed towards the teen. He was clearly inspecting her.

The girl glanced at the death investigator with disgust. "I guess a thank you should be appropriate." She muttered to herself. Her eyes snapped back to the man, we she felt his gaze on her. "What?"

"Sorry, it's just, I almost mistook you for someone else."

The female ghoul raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "Well, you have my gratitude... Even if I could have taken care of that myself." She muttered the last part. The girl glanced up to the male ghoul. "Well, is there anything I can do to return the favour?"

"Well, I'm looking for a certain ghoul."

"Hah?" Her grumpy expression turned into a suspicious stare.

"The last time he was spotted, was in this ward. He's known as the corpse retriever by the doves."

"Never heard of that name." The girl answered as she was about to leave the alley.

"Then, can you at least guide me to a cafe called Anteiku?"

The teen stopped and turned around, glancing at the male again with an unreadable expression. "I guess it's the least I can do." The female answered, but I need to make a detour first."

"I don't mind. Thanks for your hospitality..."

"Kirishima Touka..." Touka answered nonchalantly.

"Kaneki Ken." 

* * *

Kaneki was really impressed by the 20th ward. The place Touka had to visit first appeared to be a human supplier of coffee beans. The man was quite friendly, not distrustful or nervous like how the humans were at the other wards, but what amused him more was when they arrived at the café. The place was peaceful and quite popular apparently the employees were probably the odd ones...

"What do we have here? Touka-chan leaves for supplies and comes back with a guy?" One of the waiters asked, he seemed to be very amused.

"Shut up Enji! I was only showing him the way to the cafe!"

Enji chuckled. "You do know that that attitude is the reason why you're still single."

"I don't give a fuck!"

"You can take a seat somewhere." Touka said to Kaneki. "I'll take your order when I finish changing." She mumbled, before leaving the guy on his own.

Kaneki nodded and decided to sit somewhere near the window. He took off his wet coat and hung it over the chair.

Meanwhile Touka went to the storage to refill after she had finished changing into her uniform.

"What took you so long?"

The female ghoul sighed as she glanced over her brother. He was leaning against the door, she had to admit, he looked funny with the waiter uniform and that expression of his."I came a across some trouble along the way." She answered.

"What kind of trouble?" Ayato asked impatiently.

Touka looked around to see if the manager or any of their other colleagues were near, then she turned back to her little brother. "That guy we came across some weeks ago... I bumped into him today, so I had to get away from him."

Ayato snorted. "You could have killed him at least one trash less here."

"A strange white-haired guy killed him before I had the chance."

Her brother's gaze tightened. "Guy? You mean the person that stupid Enji was blabbing about out loud?"

"Yeah... why?"

Ayato said nothing, he walked out of the storage room and peered into the café, resting his glance at where Kaneki was sitting. Touka stood behind her brother, waiting for him I say anything. "He's suspicious."

"He had told me, he was looking for someone who's known as the corpse retriever. Do you know any ghoul with that title?"

Ayato kept staring at Kaneki with narrowed eyes before he faced his sister again. "No and why would I? It has nothing I do with us."

"I thought so..."

"Touka-chan, Ayato-kun."

The Kirishima siblings slowly turned around to face their boss. He was eyeing the with an unreasonable expression. After taking a look at the new customer he glanced back at the ghouls. "Touka-chan did you get into trouble again?"

And he did overhear their conversation. Touka cursed inwardly as she and her brother followed Yoshimura upstairs.

"Touka-chan, you know what I said last time, right?"

The ghoul nodded. "Only when it's urgent, will we dispose of the doves."

"And?"

"And their corpses carefully..." Shit... She completely forgot about that.

The manager sighed. "Touka, go with Yomo and dispose the body properly. Ayato, please take of Touka-chan's orders."

The boy scoffed, but nodded.

"I'll be back later Ayato. Try to keep things quiet." Touka warned her brother.

The younger ghoul said nothing and walked out of the room. 

* * *

Kaneki was staring at the window, enjoying the scenery while he waited for someone to take his order. The rain always calmed him down, he didn't know why. Maybe it was the melancholic feel to it or because the rain could wash away almost everything. Looking carefully at the raindrops touched the window and slowly fell down until they reached the ground, where it would accumulate until it would wash down and disappear into the sewer. If only life could be as easy...

"You going to order something or what?!"

The white-haired male, turned around and was surprised to see a boy standing in front of him. He looked a lot like the girl. "Uhm, Touka-chan is busy, I assume?"

"Touka-chan?" The boy raised his eyebrows displeased by the way Kaneki addressed the girl. "Aneki is busy at the moment, not that it's any of your business. Are you going to order something or will you keep staring like some idiot?"

Kaneki frowned. The boy was pretty rude. "Just some coffee." He answered nonchalantly.

The waiter wrote down the order and walked off.

"Those two definitely are siblings..." The white-haired ghoul muttered as he stared at the back of the boy. 

* * *

"Is this the place?" Yomo asked.

"Yeah," Touka answered. "This is where the dove got killed.

The two ghouls, both stood in the alley where she and Kaneki met. The body was still there and untouched. Luckily the rain washed away all the blood and most of the smell, which was why no other ghoul had found it yet.

Yomo approached the corpse and started to take off the clothes. He cut the body into smaller pieces and put them in a bag. Touka also helped out after she was sure all the traces were cleaned up.

When they were done, they quickly leaped on the walls, jumping skill fully until they were on the rooftop of the building.

"You were lucky that it's raining." Yomo commented.

"Ah... Yeah."

"Be more careful next time."

"Alright."

"I'm going to burn the clothes in the safe house. You can go ahead."

"I'm going with you. Just in case we run into trouble." The girl exclaimed, refusing to leave Yomo alone to take care of her mistakes. 

* * *

The two ghouls arrived at a large abandoned building. The ghouls of the 20th ward had dubbed it the safe house because humans were aware of the old decaying state of the building no one came near, but it had quite a history, which was why it hasn't been demolished yet. So the ghouls were free to use this to erase any trace of their kills, identity cards of their victims, clothes or other belonging, aside from that, this was another information gathering place and some ghouls tended to store some personal belongings. It was only exclusive to its inhabitants. So everyone respected the other's privacy.

"Hey, did you know? I heard some bunch of troublesome ghouls from the 8th ward have become very quiet. The killings there started to drop a while ago."

"I heard those guys pissed off the wrong person."

"You mean some big shot from the other ward?"

"Who knows. But I heard it was quite the bloodbath."

"The 11th, 12th and 13th wards appear to be in deep shit."

"I'm glad I don't live there."

"Did you hear about CCG's last big raid? Apparently there some a secret ghoul group in the 3rd ward. They faked crime scenes, making it look like it was some killer. The shinigami of the CCG exterminated them within second."

"That guy gives me the creep, I hope we'll never run into him."

Touka and Yomo ignored the whispers and kept walking until they arrived at the back of the building, in front of an enormous door. The silver-haired man pushed open the door and allowed Touka to enter first. The room was very dark, but the two had no problem thanks to their sharp senses.

Yomo dumped the clothes, along with all the other belongings of the dove on some strange black-looking ash. "Get the fire." He ordered.

The girl did as she was told and walked to a container. People would mostly assume that old abandoned buildings like this one would be filled with bugs and rats, but even animals weren't stupid enough to habit a place where ghouls gathered. The girl took out a big box and carried it to her colleague. Upon opening it, she took out an opened package, with the same strange substance as the floor had and threw some over the clothes. The girl quickly grabbed a matchbox from her pocket, lit the small match, before she threw it on the pile. Within a second it caught fire, Yomo and Touka watched as they made sure every piece of evidence was burned.

"I need to check on something." Touka suddenly said.

Yomo glanced at the girl, giving her an understanding nod. "I'll get you when we're done here."

The teen said nothing and jumped to the higher floor. After running through chambers, jumping from the higher to the lower floors, the blue-haired ghoul finally reaches the deeper parts of the building. No human would be able to reach it so easily, which was why this part of the building was used for safekeeping.

Touka stood in front of a heavy locked door. It would be no easy feat to crumble it, but that wasn't the girl's concern. She took out an odd shaped key and shove open a lot, that was located on the bottom right of the door. If you don't know where to look, it wouldn't be easy to find. The door opened and the teen walked into an empty room. It was surprisingly small, compared to the building's size. The ghoul started to fumble with the key, shoving layers as if she was trying to reconstruct it like a puzzle. When she was done, she turned to the wall and started to knock on various places. After 3 tries, she finally heard an odd sound, she sighed in relief and pushed the part of the wall, gently, which appeared to be some hidden button. A hole appeared, the size almost as big as a hand. Without any hesitation, she proceeded with shoving her and the key in the hole and turned it, after hearing a click, the wall started the rumble and opened, revealing an expensive looking box.

Touka reached for her neck and took of a pendant, which contains another key. She opened the box and stared at the content. Mainly letters were stored inside, along with another expensive-looking box and some trivial things. Taking out the box, she slumped to the ground as did the same thing, she had done with the key until it opened. It was mainly filled with photo's of happier times, happy memories and peace. The teen grabbed a pictured with a man and a woman. The man had short dark-blue hair, just like Touka and her brother, a gentle smile, lean body and a handsome appearance. In his arms was a happy little girl, same hair colour as her father and a smile plastered on her face; it was Touka. The woman, had short hair, hair colour could be mistaken for very light blonde or silver. A very beautiful woman, her daughter looked exactly like her. She was carrying a baby.

The teen stared sadly at the picture. The warm, loving family of four had been reduced to two. Only the children left. She quickly averted her gaze from the picture, back to the box, where she placed the photo back and took out a small box. It contained a golden ring, she grabbed it and stared at the object.

A knock snapped her out of her thoughts. Yomo was standing at the doorway, glancing at the girl. "Are you done?"

Touka nodded and quickly placed everything back where it belonged. Locks back in, she closed the safe and the door. She turned to Yomo, expression completely empty. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2: There is not much to say about the name anyway. Only signalising that the wheels of fate have started to turn the moment Kaneki and Touka met. Little by little, until they're strong enough to influence others around them. I can say at least this, Touka's and Kaneki's past will play some part in this story. Yes, I already have a lot of ideas for that, it also will clear up any confusion you'll get later for their behaviours and future actions.


	4. Hidden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3. Gotta love the way Touka and Ayato treat Kaneki. XD

The tea cup was slammed on the table.

Kaneki blinked, surprised as he looked at the cup and turned to see Ayato's glaring eyes on him. Without any word the younger male walked away, muttering some unintelligible words. The boy definitely didn't like him, why? He didn't know. Not that it would matter, as long as the kid wasn't troublesome, he would leave him alone. His eyes narrowed at the cup, he smelled the fragrance first. It didn't seem bad. After one sip, he decided that he had drunk worse.

"My apologies for Ayato-kun. It's his first day here and he isn't accustomed to the job yet."

Kaneki slowly looked to his side to see an old man standing next to him, a gentle smile present on his face, but the man could tell that behind that smile, something else was hidden. His instinct told him that the older ghoul was dangerous and that he had to be careful. "It's alright," Kaneki reassured him. "The coffee isn't bad by the way."

"I'm glad it's to your liking. I'm Yoshimura, the manager of this cafe and the organization that keeps on eye on the 20th ward." Yoshimura explained.

"Anteiku, right?"

Yoshimura nodded. "All employees are members of Anteiku. Some may need some supervision themselves, but they are capable enough to keep order. The feeding grounds are distributed between the weaker ghouls and those who have trouble hunting receive help from us. You're free to hunt, as long as you don't cause trouble for the others." Yoshimura explained. "Now, I'd like to go straight to the point... Kaneki-kun isn't it? Touka-chan told me about you."

Kaneki nodded as he kept listening to the man attentively.

"From what I understood, you're new here and probably, only staying in this ward temporarily?"

"Yes," The white-haired man replied. "I promise I won't cause any trouble. It would be troublesome if I were to attract doves."

The old ghoul nodded. "I also heard that you were looking for someone? May I know the reason?"

"Well, it's a bit personal, so I can't reveal much, only that there's something I have to know."

The elder ghoul eyed the young man carefully. "I see and that's why you're looking for the ghoul known as the corpse collector?"

"Yes, do you know anything?"

Yoshimura shook his head. "I have to disappoint you. The name corpse collector is a name I hadn't heard for a long time ago and from what I know is that it was a peaceful ghoul, hardly attracting any attention from other ghouls during his stay."

"I see," Kaneki said as he stared pensively at his coffee cup. "Anyway, thank you for your information."

"You're welcome. Please enjoy your stay in the 20th ward." Yoshimura disappeared through the door that led towards the upper part of Anteiku.

He went upstairs into a small room with a table, sofas and some shelves. Ayato was sitting there, sipping on a cup of coffee with a bored expression plastered on his face, he eyed his boss, confused when he saw Yoshimura's expression. "What's the matter old man?"

"Nothing. It's just, I think I should give you and your sister the rest of the day off. We're not busy and Touka-chan probably needs to focus on her studies, you actually should do the same."

The boy stayed quiet, eyes still glued on the old man. "It's my first day, and you're letting me leave early already?" The teen sighed and got up. "Fine by me, getting surrounded by those shitty humans is getting on my nerves."

"Ayato-kun..."

"Yeah, yeah, I have to respect them." The boy answered.

"Go get your sister."

The dark-haired ghoul just shrugged his shoulders and left the room. Leaving the manager alone with his thoughts. 

* * *

"What did you say?" Touka asked, confused as she and Yomo stored the newly collected flesh in the storage room.

"The old man told me that we could go home for the rest of the day." Ayato mumbled.

"What did you do this time?" The boy's older sister narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing!" The boy barked. "He just told me to go home after I served that customer of you."

Her customer? The female ghoul decided to let it slide. "Fine, I need to finish some homework anyway." She turned to look at her brother again. "And you should try to do something for school too! You can't keep skipping classes!"

"And why not?" Ayato asked, irritation growing in his tone. "It's not like we need it anyway! Besides, socialising with stock is a pain in the ass!"

"At least, try to blend in! Just sit there and shut up! Your classmates are probably too scared to approach you anyway!" The girl snorted.

"They should be." The boy showed a toothy grin, like a wolf that was planning to eat his prey.

The older sibling flicked her brother's forehead and walked out of the room. "Sorry for leaving you with the work Yomo-san." She said.

"It's fine..." The man answered while he continued his work in silence.

Ayato scowled at his sister and followed her out of the storage room, ready to go home. 

* * *

The rain had finally subdued a bit and Kaneki was thankful for that. After he finished he paid and thanked Ayato, who apparently was already done with working, for the coffee. The boy only responded with a glare and followed his sister outside. The white-haired ghoul chuckled at the younger ghoul's behavior. He seemed quite attached to his sister but showed it with a big mouth.

When he exited the cafe the man continued on his way, pondering about the information he had gotten. It wasn't what he had hoped, but at least better something than nothing. He still had the feeling as if something was bugging him at the back of his mind.

"Maybe... I should take a look around the place, since I'll be here for a while." He mumbled as he walked away towards the shopping district.

The place wasn't completely crowded, but it wasn't empty either. Kaneki scanned curiously through the crowd, observing and learning the behavior of the citizens of the 20th ward. Ghouls and humans alike were very lax. "No wonder it's left alone... With this many peaceful ghoul, the ghouls of the other wards will find this very boring." He muttered. "Also, there is Anteiku..."

The man looked up when he noticed a figure in the shadow and sighed. "About time..." He got up and disappeared into the alley. "Let me guess, you got lost?"

"No, something else came up. So I couldn't come sooner."

Kaneki stared at the figure sighed. "Alright, what do you have?"

"He's been quiet for years. The last incident revolving him is almost ten years ago. Maybe he went into hiding, there is a possibility he left this ward. I came across someone who knows more, but it'll take some time before I can get in touch with the guy, because

of the doves and he seems very reluctant himself to give away any information."

Kaneki stayed quiet for a while. "And what do you know about a ghoul named Yoshimura?"

"He's the ghoul that runs Anteiku. The organization of this ward, for some reason he disguised it as a regular cafe, but it's the best place to gather information or news about anything that happens here. He has been managing the 20th ward for more than 10 years. I don't know much about Yoshimura or the employees working there, but they're all strong and high ranked ghouls. So, it's better to not to mess with them. They have a lot of respect for their boss."

"Well, that confirms my suspicions." The man answered. "Thank you or your information."

"It's part of the deal, no need to thank me."

Kaneki nodded as he left the small alley. "If you could find more information about that organisation, it would be very helpful and also, try not to get caught." He warned. 

* * *

Touka sighed in relief as she and Ayato finally arrived at their apartment. The siblings took off their jackets and collapsed on the couch.

"That the hell is with that old man?" Ayato grumbled. "Maybe his age finally caught up to him."

"Thanks to that old man, we are able to live undisturbed!" Touka reminded him.

The boy ignored his sister and turned on the TV. 'Another body of a CCG officer has been found in the 11th ward. People are getting worried that...'

Ayato quickly zapped to another channel.

'Try our new pocky with caramel flavour!'

He zapped again.

'And this concludes this match in a draw!'

And again.

'Buy one now and get the second one for free! Only for...'

And again.

'ONE OK ROCK will hold a concert in Tokyo, on the 15th of February! Buy your ticket now, before...'

And agai...

"Stick to one fucking channel!" Touka yelled angrily as she tried to focus on her homework.

The boy shot a glare to his sister, but did as she said. There was nothing to see anyway, so better to listen to some Japanese rock band.

After hours of cramping and trying to understand her homework, Touka decided that she had enough for today. She went towards the kitchen to make some coffee, only to find nothing. "Ayato, did you get more coffee yesterday, like I asked you?"

"You didn't ask me anything like that, stupid! Besides, I was out most of the time!"

Touka growled as she stared out of the window, looking dreadfully at the pouring rain. "Fuck!"

Knowing that her brother was in no mood to go out and mingle with humans for today, not even for the only thing they could drink, she grabbed a raincoat and put on her shoes again. "I'll be right back, don't even dare to try anything, you hear me?"

"Tche, as if I would want to do anything in this shitty weather." The boy answered and continued to watch television. 

* * *

What Touka hated the most about the winter season, was the cold. Snow, rain and that annoying feeling of needles piercing your skin repeatedly whenever a gust of wind blew in your face. Which is why her mood worsened when she noticed that it began to pour even harder.

"It will definitely snow tomorrow..." The teen mumbled in disgust.

The girl opened her umbrella and quickly ran through the streets on her way to the store.

She sighed in relief when she finally entered the building and a wave of warmth hit her body. She closed her umbrella and took off her hood. She quickly rubbed her hands together and breathed on them repeatedly, hoping for them to warm up.

"Who would have thought that we'd meet again so soon?"

The blue-haired girl looked up to see the strange white-haired ghoul from before. "... Kaneki... Right?"

The man nodded.

"Are you also here for coffee?" The girl asked him suspiciously.

"I guess you can say that. Since I still haven't settled completely in this place, I'll just need a few things."

"It's not really hard to find, just around the corner of the first row." The girl sighed as the gestured the man to follow her in which he complied.

"Your brother doesn't seem to be very customer friendly."

Touka blinked. "Ayato?" God what did the brat do this time.

"He took my order at the cafe." Kaneki explained.

"... Ah, I had to take care of something first. That's why he took over." 'That stupid brat, if he scares away the customers we'll get scolded by the old man.'

"The dove, I assume."

Touka didn't answer, which Kaneki assumed then as a yes. "So, where you able to find that person you're looking for?" The female ghoul asked. Hoping to quickly change the subject as she reached down to get one packet of coffee, which she inspected carefully, only to place it back.

"Not really, the people I asked don't know much."

The 17-year old nodded, her suspiciousness on the guy only increased. "Is he a friend of yours?"

"... Not really..."

"Why are you looking for him?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

Touka bucked to inspect one more coffee package, before she stood up; holding five coffee packets, she gave two to Kaneki. "The ghouls of this ward are very fond of their peace. It would be troublesome if some new guy disturbs it. We have no interest in the battles that take place at the other wards between ghouls and humans." She answered flatly. "Anteiku strives for peace in the 20th ward so we do our best to keep it that way." Her tone was cold and her eyes were narrowing. "If anything suspicious occurs that may bring the doves attention to us, we get rid of it."

She turned around and walked towards the check point. "And one thing." Touka turned to face Kaneki again and pointed to the coffee he was holding. "That's the best brand you can get here. It's not the cheapest, but it doesn't give you the feeling as if you're tasting clumps of coffee powder or a cheap shit-flavoured coffee."

"Thanks for the advice."

She stayed silent and proceeded with pulling her hood on and opened her umbrella, until she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, glaring at the olive-eyed man. "Could you please refrain from touching me?" The rain was really fouling her mood, but then again her personality was just as lacking as Ayato's when she wasn't pretending to be human.

Kaneki held his other hand in front of her. "I thought you would want to borrow these, since its cold outside and you were shivering when you entered."

Touka stared at the pair of gloves. Her eyes narrowed in distrust. "Why?"

"Lets just say its a thank you for helping me." He explained.

"It's just coffee, even a cat can do it."

"You showed me the way to the cafe."

"You got rid of the dove that was chasing me." Not that she needed the help, but at least it saved her from a scolding.

The man sighed. Women really were difficult to handle. "Then how about you'll borrow them now and repay me later?"

"What idiot would accept such a stupid offer? I'd be stupid to fall for that, for all I know you could trick me in any shady business!"

"I won't." He said as he grabbed her hand and gave her the gloves. "As repay how about you buy me coffee someday?"

That was the stupidest thing the girl had ever heard, but if he would shut up, then she'd do it. "Fine, as long as you shut up."

She put on the gloves, though they were big for her, it was better than nothing. Opened the umbrella and ran out of the grocery store.

"I'll see you then, Touka-chan!"

The girl cringed at the way he addressed her. "Stupid weirdo." She mumbled. 

* * *

The door closed gentle the moment the white haired ghoul entered his apartment. It wasn't a very impressive apartment. Enough for one person, with a living room, bedroom, bathroom with toilet and a kitchen as it was designed for humans of course. The place was very neat and clean, Kaneki didn't have much anyway, except for quite some books that he liked to read in his free time. It helped him to keep him busy and prevented boredom.

The man wiped away the water from his forehead. He was completely soaked to the bone, not that he minded. He stored the coffee packages in the kitchen and headed to his room to change into some dry clothes.

He placed his shirt on the heating, for it to dry along with his pants and headed towards the bathroom. He stopped by in front of the midair o inspect himself. His torso was lean and ripped, his back showed one scar. His eyes darkened at the memory. Kaneki quickly looked away and headed into the shower.

"Anteiku..." He mumbled. "I'm sure the old man knows more than he lets on."

The water continued to wash over his body, while the man thought about the 20th ward and its unique rules. The organisation that decided to mingle with the humans and the members, all of them seem to have their own ideals and opinions. "I need to observe this place first and get a better idea of the ghouls of Anteiku and the organisation itself. Before I can continue..."

After a few more minutes the white-haired man finally turned off the shower and stepped out. He wrapped a towel around his middle after he dried his hair and returns to his room, where he pulled a shirt, a pair of boxers and some pants out of his closet and put them on, before collapsing on his bed.

"I get the feeling that this will take longer than I hoped."

He grabbed a book that was reading on his nightstand and continued to read where he had left last night. His preference or books were mostly classic literature and philosophy, to him those were the best way to leave you thinking about the meanings and symbolism.

'Rain, as common and natural as it is, when looking past the typical meaning, it has more functions than providing nature with nourishment.'

The white haired man glanced at the window an smirked at the irony. The rain was still tapping against the window, showering the 20th ward is a slight feeling of gloominess.

'As he continued on, he felt like his soul was slowly getting cleansed, all his fears, fury, sadness, worries, all was washed away by the rain and he felt like he was reborn as a new person. The pain and stinging felt like a ghost of the past, finally letting go of their hold on the man; he had finally found salvation.'

"Salvation... If such things really existed, then this world would be a lot more beautiful than it is now..." Kaneki mused.

The man continued reading, until his alarm went off. When he looked up, he noticed that the sky had cleared a bit and was now bathed in the thin glow of the moonlight. It took a while before Kaneki realized that he had lost track of time again. "I guess I should go out for now."

He stood up and left the room, grabbing his coat and shoes at the hall and leaving his cozy home, for the cold and dark night. 

* * *

If there was one thing that Kaneki was able to enjoy, no matter what ward he was in, it was the view of Tokyo's nightlife. The whole city illuminated in all kinds of lights, while looking from above in the darkness. One of the few positive sides of being a ghoul. The man stayed quiet for minutes, not moving one muscle, while observing the behaviour and the movements of the citizens. The main streets, alleyway, parks, the plaza. Of course it was less crowded than daytime, since the majority would be sitting inside in front of the TV with their family, or finishing homework or working, but that was how he preferred it.

After a few minutes of gazing at the city, the man leaped from his position and jumped from one building to another. The scenery changed quickly, from the clear night sky to the various roofs, walls or windows of the buildings. The ghoul landed with a silent thud in an alleyway as he quietly continued his promenade, until he spotted a group of ghouls.

"The next time I see that fucking brat, I'm going to tear him into pieces!" One of the ghouls sneered. "Just because he had a reputation, he thinks he's a big shot!"

"He did have an advantaged over us." Another ghoul commented.

"On whose fucking side are you?!"

"I was just stating the facts. Besides, he has built quite a reputation with his sibling around here."

"Just because they're a bit famous doesn't give them the right to act all high and mighty!"

"You did try to hit on the older sibling."

The ghoul was met with a friend so from his companion. "If you talk back to me again, you'll lose more than just your teeth, got it?" He sneered.

The other ghoul whimpered, but nodded.

"Those fucking siblings have been troublesome even before they were taken by that zombie bastard!"

The group turned silent when they noticed the white-haired ghoul.

"What do you want? Are you spying on us?" The ghoul who appeared to be the leader sneered.

"Sorry, I was just passing by, is all." Kaneki explained.

The ghoul squinted his eyes. "Aren't you the suspicious new guy everyone keeps talking about.

The man scratched his chin awkwardly. "I guess I am."

The group leader walked up to the ghoul and inspected him thoroughly. "You smell weird" He commented; "and what's with the white hair? A fashion trend?"

"It's my natural hair colour."

The man grunted. "Well, since you're new here, let me make a few things clear, Anteiku divides the hunting grounds between the inhabitants, but the conflict between the ghouls is none of their business, so if I see you sneaking around my turf, you'll be dead meat, got it?"

Kaneki's expression stayed the same. "I'll be careful." He answered. "Now if like to ask you something. I've heard quite a lot about two ghouls? And since you mentioned something similar."

"You mean the Kirishima siblings." A short man pointed out. "They're mostly known for their temper so only a few people cross paths with them. The oldest of the two; Kirishima Touka is part of Anteiku for quite some time and very good at acting, if you've been there before you will have trouble believe that she scares the shit out of everyone. The youngest one; Kirishima Ayato joined recently. I think their caretaker is one of the members; Yomo Renji. He doesn't show himself often and his social skills are lower than that of those two combined, but he's very strong and rumour has it, that he was quite the horror in the past. They have calmed down a lot the past couple of months, but I think that Yoshimura is the reason behind it. I'm not sure about the complete story behind them, but they moved into this ward a few years ago, during the time that the 20th ward was getting more peaceful."

"More peaceful?"

"Things had been quite chaotic in the past here and around the surrounding wards, I know it's hard to believe. Since the majority of the ghouls in this ward, are so young, many of them have no knowledge of any of this."

"Ichiru, we should go and don't talk about private matters to any newbies." Another ghoul sneered.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Anyway... Eh.."

"It's Kaneki Ken." Kaneki added.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kaneki-san. Please, forget what I just said, it's something from the past, so it's meaningless." Ichiru said. "Enjoy your stay."

"Sure and thank you."

"ICHIRU!"

The ghoul yelled and quickly ran after his leader. "I'm sorry boss, I just thought that..."

The man punched his subordinate in his face and sent him flying again the wall. "Don't ever fucking do that again, you hear me?!"

"Yes."

"Also... Don't associate with that brat. He reeks too much of blood."

"Boss?"

"Just because the outside seems to be harmless doesn't mean the inside is the same. This applies especially with us ghouls. So stay away from him, unless you want to bring us all in trouble."

"Yes, boss."

"The past of the 20th ward, huh." Kaneki recited as he leaned on his window.

The man was back in his room, window completely open and stared at the sky. His walk had given him more than what he could imagine. But now his search had become broader also.

"So, the current peace happened because of a reason. Has it something to do with the corpse retriever? Or is there something else?"

The man turned around and stared at his bookshelf. Observing every little detail of each cover, hoping it would clear his mind.

"Those sibling's arrival at this ward seems suspicious, but you can't trust free information that quickly, besides none of them, seem to know any of it. It could be just pure coincidence."

Many thoughts and ideas went through his head, but he was sure of one thing. Yoshimura knew more than what he let know. "This is going to take longer than I thought." 

* * *

At the apartment of the Kirishima siblings, the two were huddled up, on their couch, wrapped up blankets to shield them from the cold and both of them, holding a cup of coffee in their hands. It was one of the few moments where they weren't insulting each other. Their eyes were glued to the television, playing on their Wii U.

"Things seem to much easier in a game." Touka commented.

Ayato paused the screen and looked at his sister. "Hah?!"

"Life, surviving, everything. You make a mistake, or something goes wrong; you can reset it, as long as it has nothing to do with the plot. People won't judge you for who you are, because you help them."

"Well, it is a game. That's why it seems easier, they're meant to distract the player from real life and worries."

Touka laughed bitterly. "Yeah, you're right."

"Besides, as long as we have each other, we don't need anything else."

The female ghoul stared at her younger brother, who had his attention back on the game again. She let out a sigh of content, before joining her brother. 'As long as we're together, we will be fine.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like life, even stories have too many secrets, especially when it's starting to form. I had a different name for this chapter but decided to change it, because it may give away a spoiler. So, even though the 20th ward is the most peaceful ward, it has quite a hidden past accompanied by secrets. Who are aware of them and who not, well that has been explained in this chapter already. In a way, it's a huge discovery, but on the side note it brings a lot of new questions also! It may take a while until the majority are revealed, but that's where the theories, guessing and speculation come in.


	5. A Turn of Events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember how often I had to rewrite this chapter because I wasn't completely satisfied. At least those ideas could be incorporated in another chapter. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

 

The gloomy, cold days still continued and to be honest, it was getting on Touka's nerves. In the complete silence of her classroom, the sounds of the clock ticking away and tapping of pencils or fingers on the desk were making it worse. She didn't know why, but she felt like she has to get out of here, as if she would suffocate if she didn't. She wondered if Ayato finally decided to show up for his classes. What if he was causing trouble again?

The sound of closing books, snapped her out of her frantic thoughts. She didn't pay much attention to the teacher's final words as she quickly gathered her stuff and left the classroom.

She felt the stares of her classmates and mumbled like: Be careful, if you make her angry she'll beat you up like the senior from class 2.

Even in the human world the siblings were labelled as troublemakers, in Touka's case a lot milder than she actually showed, but still her stare would send most students shivering. Though, she did had some lash out years ago with some delinquent students, she had been quiet those couple of years and the seniors, they were taking about, ran away like a deer trying to escape his predator. They all talk big first, but when it comes to it, they all cringe away.

The female ghoul left the school building, deciding to stop by the middle school her brother was submitted to. She didn't have to search at all, because the boy was outside behind the school, again, his foot pressed on the head of some guy. Two other guys were lying almost unconscious on the ground. "So, what was it what you were planning to do, you shit?" The blue-haired boy sneered sadistically.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't try anything anymore! I promise!"

Ayato scoffed. "Why should I believe you? Besides, you've pissed me off to no end, so prepare the consequences!"

"What are you doing?" Touka demanded.

The boy looked up at his elder sibling. "I was just teaching him a lesson."

"Leave him, he's not worth your time."

The younger ghoul looked at the human who was shivering in fear and sighed. His sister had a point, humans weren't worth it, no matter how much he wanted to break the weakling's spinal column, he was too weak and frail for it to give any piece of enjoyment. He put his foot back on the ground and leaned in. "Try that again and I will kill you." He hissed dangerously.

The teen nodded silently and quickly limbed away, trying to drag his comrades with him.

"So, are you going to explain that or what?" Touka asked, as she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow in expectancy, after the group of human had left their sight and Ayato's turned his attention towards his sister.

Ayato placed his hands in his pockets. "They're dirt from some street gang and tried to intimidate me because I beat up their underlings the other day. Those idiots thought they were stronger than me." He smirked. "How stupid."

Touka pulled the boy by his scarf. "Idiot, what if someone saw you?! I'm not in the mood to hide from another dove."

"Speaking of doves, it's become a lot more quieter since that trash got killed."

"Don't relax, you know that the dead of one will lure more here."

"Don't you think they would have done it already, but I hardly see a briefcase."

"Let's just hope it will stay that way. Now come on, it's cold and I want to go home!"

"Sure," the boy replied. "So, did you get scolded by the old man?"

"No, why?"

"Last time we killed someone we had to listen to his nonsense for hours."

"Well, it wasn't me who killed him, remember.

Ayato didn't answer. His mind too occupied by his sister's words.

The two continued their walk back to their home in silence. 

* * *

 

CCG 20th ward branch... One of the many branches of the CCG, situated in Tokyo. Being placed in the most docile wards the majority of the investigators are quite lax, with only once in a while a report about ghouls.

"Have you heard anything about Takashi-san?" One of the bureau investigators asked.

"I spoke with him a few days ago. He was investigating the two ghouls, he encountered a few weeks ago."

"Still? He couldn't find any clues or evidence afterwards. I can understand his defeat by ghouls is a humiliation, but it was two against one, he was lucky that he got back alive. We hardly have anything on the sibling ghouls. No kagune traces, no massive killings, not even suspects. I told him to let it rest and focus on the Gourmet instead, since he's a bigger tread."

"Nakajima-san, can you please inform him tomorrow after you're done with work?"

Nakajima Yasunori; is one of the bureau investigators of the 20th wards an average man between his end thirties and begin forties. He has short black hair and is a dedicated worker. His partner is Kusaba Ippei a short brown haired man with glasses, around the age of 26. "Sure, I'll do that. It's about time someone to tell that imbecile to stop focusing on one thing. No one blames him. We all have our bad days."

"Yes, and there's another thing. I got a message from the headquarters."

The investigator stopped with what he was doing and looked up. "A message from the headquarters?" 

* * *

 

It had been two weeks since Kaneki had settled in the 20th ward. He was able to find a decent apartment with a bedroom, shower, kitchen with fridge. It was a very cosy place, something that felt alien to him. The man sighed as he took a sip from his coffee. His search wasn't very successful. Or the ghouls here were very ignorant or the corpse collector had literally erased any traces of himself and went into hiding, like his informant thought, but why would he hide?

"How long do you plan to sit here?"

Kaneki opened his eyes and stared at the blue-haired waitress. She was eyeing him suspiciously. "I like your coffee. It's the best I've tasted so far."

"No duh, that's obvious. What I mean is, every day you come in, at the same time, take the same seat and sit there for over an hour just to drink your coffee?"

"I like to take my time while enjoying my drinks."

Touka eyed him suspiciously and let out a sigh. "... Weirdo." She mumbled as she walked off.

The white-haired man watched as the girl disappeared behind the counter. She was interesting, unlike most ghouls here, she and her brother still seemed rebellious, while able to walk in human society. That's not something you see every day. Kaneki closed his eyes, trying to focus on the voices of the whispering ghouls.

"Did you hear? The gourmet is causing trouble again."

"Seriously? What the hell is he thinking? Can't he see, he'll attract the doves if he keeps up!"

"I heard the binge eater is quite active in the sixth yard."

"So, she has moved to another yard again. Let's hope she won't choose the 20th ward as her next home if she moves again."

"11th ward is getting too dangerous, the last couple of days. Even ghouls need to be careful where they walk and at what time."

"Yeah, I heard from a friend of mine that her boyfriend's brother got into trouble when he visited the 11th ward. They haven't heard anything from him ever since."

"I heard that the gourmet got into a brawl with the Kirishima siblings last weekend again."

"What?! Seriously?! Is he crazy?!"

"Not sure, but they seem to have less trouble beating him up, if you compare it to years ago. The fight ended is several minutes. And it was koukaku against ukaku! It worries me that Yoshimura-san is so lenient with them. "

"Is it really alright for them to walk around with such mild supervision. I know the elder sibling seems calmer, but you never know underneath that mask."

"Shhh, what if they hear you?"

"We should have faith in Yoshimura. He knows what he's doing. I do feel sorry for what happened to their parents, they were still very young."

Kaneki glanced through the reflection of the mirror at the conversing ghouls. Not really any information that he hoped for, but still. He was a little bit curious.

"Hey, do you need a refill?" Touka asked, while she patted her pen against her notepad. Ayato was standing behind her, cold eyes fixated on the older ghoul.

"Yeah, thank you."

The female ghoul only nodded and took his cup, leaving the two with each other. "So, Ayato-kun,"

"Who the fuck told you, you could address me like that?!" The boy growled.

"You're younger than me, so it's only reasonable."

"I don't give a damn about ages." He leant close until his mouth was a few millimetres away from the man's ears. "Just don't even think about approaching aneki! The gloves were unnecessary, she could warm herself up when she got home."

"It was just a generous gesture."

Ayato said nothing, but his glare was still on the man. He leaned back when he heard his sister approaching.

"Here." The girl said as the placed a new cup in front of her customer. She turned towards her brother and gave him a strange look. "Why are you standing here? Aren't you supposed to take orders?"

The boy only snorted and walked away.

"Your brother really cares for you." Kaneki pointed out.

"I know. Now finish that and get going already, before I'll classify you as a stalker!" She walked away quickly, to take the next order.

The bell on the cafe door jingled when he was about to take a sip.

"Oi, shitty Touka!"

The said girl and her brother looked up. Touka with a frown on her face and Ayato a glare. "What do you want shitty Nishiki?"

The man standing in front of the door; Nishio Nishiki, was a university student at Kamii university, studying pharmaceutical sciences. Short brown hair that was slightly messy, some baggy clothes and glasses. He was known to have a foul mouth as big as the Kirishima siblings. "Keep your shitty brother in check! You know how much I hate it, when others cause trouble on my territory!"

The younger ghoul snorted. "Why should I care? Besides, isn't it your fault in the first place? If you keep your shitty grounds in check I wouldn't have to deal with annoying bugs!"

Touka groaned, she was seriously not in the mood. "You two, outside, now!"

The foul mouthed ghoul didn't respond and followed her to the back of the coffee shop. Touka closed the door and gave Nishiki a piercing glare. "First, why haven't you showed up to work lately?! Do you have any idea how fucking annoying it is to run from one place to another?!"

"Didn't your brother joined about a week ago? You should be able to handle it. Besides, I have exams to take care off."

"Hah." Ayato scoffed. "Exams, my ass! I've seen you fooling around with that human girlfriend of yours."

"I get to decide, how I want to spend the free time I have left, brat!" Nishiki spat.

"Then, how about spending it with washing plates and kissing asses of those stupid customers?!" The younger ghoul growled.

"Both of you shut the fuck up!" The female ghoul yelled. "Nishiki, you know how useless Ayato is, since he's only working here for a week! He needs to redo his fucking coffee 3 times because it tastes like piss! And Ayato, if you actually put more effort in your work, you won't have to spend 20 shitty minutes with the same customers! Now shut the fuck up and get to work!"

Both were displeased, but decided to listen, since they knew Yoshimura would say something if their fight escalated.

"I'll get my uniform." Nishiki mumbled.

Touka entered the cafe with a heavy sigh, she felt mentally drained. With school, work and the arguments she had to deal with. She really needed a vacation. Her sour mood, increased when she saw Kaneki near the door. That shithead still hadn't left the café, apparently. "The hell do you want?" She growled.

"I just wanted to give you this, for the good service you gave me."

"Ugh, for the last time I don't want, charity or gestures. The best thing you can do for me is, to get your ass moving!"

"It's not charity. People would call it a tip, I guess. Here."

He gave her the 1000 yen and left the building after waving at her. Touka stood dumbfounded at the money. "The fuck?!"

"Touka-chan has an admirer!" Enji grinned.

"I/ she have/ has not!" Touka and Ayato yelled in unison.

This made, the older ghoul laugh harder. "You two are so funny!"

"Shut up!" They yelled again.

Enji didn't listen and continued laughing, while he went to the back of the café to get more coffee beans. At that moment Yomo entered. He gave Enji a strange look and glanced at the siblings for an explanation.

"It's nothing." They answered. "He's just being stupid again."

The man nodded and proceeded upstairs, where Yoshimura was.

"I have news."

Yoshimura looked up from his cup and nodded.

"Apparently, back at the main branch they're considering picking up the search they had let go of ten years ago."

The old man frowned. "Do you know the reason for their revitalised interest on the case?"

"I'm not sure, but I heard that someone found new evidence when the old cases were revised, but it's not much. I doubt they can do anything with what they have."

"I see." Yoshimura mumbled as he stared out of the window. "Thank you Yomo-kun. You can go now."

Yomo nodded and headed towards the door.

"Ah, are you still training them in the underground?"

"Yeah, they would make a bigger commotion if I didn't let them."

Yoshimura kept staring outside. Focusing on the small details the 20th ward held. "As long as things stay peaceful here, it should be fine." 

* * *

 

A few blocks away from the coffee shop, cries drowned by the sound of the rain. A body mutilated beyond recognition, but surprisingly movement could still be detected, accompanied by moans and gurgles that died down slowly due to the blood flowing out.

"P-please... do... n't..." The unfortunate human begged.

"No need to be afraid, Monsieur. This is a chance of a life time! You get to be part of one of the greatest meals! Ah, I'm already shuddering from the thought!" The ghoul who attacked the man shuddered in glee.

With one swift movement, the man went silent as a Kagune pierced the human's throat.

"Now let's get you ready, non?" The ghoul grinned as he took a taste of his prize. "Ah, fortissimo! 

* * *

 

"Haaah!"

Touka quickly threw a punch, as her brother dodged it quickly and countered it with a kick. "Is that all you can do, aneki?!" He taunted.

The girl gritted her teeth and launched herself at her brother again. This time she used a feint kick, to trick her brother, which succeeded as her fist connected with his face, but she didn't stay with that, she quickly threw another punch and another and ended it with a kick in his stomach. The boy crashed against the wall. "Never underestimate your opponent!" She exclaimed.

Ayato stood up; kakugan activated as his sclera turned black and his pupils red. "Let's get serious now, we're done with the warm ups." An ukaku kagune sprouted from his shoulder blades; like wings, the purple/ blackish and red colours gave it a mystified appearance.

"Fine by me." His sibling answered as she also activated her kakugan and her ukaku kagune, similar to her brother's, but instead of purple, it was was more black and red and hers seemed to be unequal; one was shorter than the other. Aside from that, she stood like a Phoenix, ready to attack its opponent. "Let's see how far you'll last, brat."

By the time Yomo arrived in the sewers, projectiles from the kagune were everywhere. Ayato threw a kick at his sister, who in return aimed her kick to his unguarded leg, which made him fall in the progress.

"Where's your pride from before?" Touka taunted.

Ayato gritted his teeth and got up quickly for another attack. Relying on his speed, like his sister, he quickly dodged an attack from her kagune. He jumped against the wall to reach a greater height and unleashed his kagune right in front of her. The teenager had no opportunity to escape the swarm of attacks, so she braced herself. Her brother, wasn't far from finished, he lunged towards her and swung several punches and kicks. After evading a punch from his sister, he kicked her in the stomach and send her flying against the wall.

"Never judge a book by its cover, right?"

Touka was gasping for air. Ayato had improved a lot, to which she was very proud of. But of course the stronger a ghoul would get, the higher the chance was that they'd appear on the CCG's radar. She smirked as she opened her mouth. "Look at yourself first, you're also covered in cuts and bruises. She said as she wiped the blood off her forehead.

Ayato didn't answer as he walked to his sister, both of them noticed Yomo by that time.

"Yomo-san?" How long have you been standing there?" Touka asked.

"A while..." The older ghoul answered. He glanced at the two. "You've both improved."

The two ghouls stayed quiet, waiting for Yomo to continue.

"But you're both still full of openings." He said as he took off his coat. "Let's try two vs one."

"With pleasure." Ayato smirked as he got into battle position. His kakugan shining and his kagune sprouting again from his back. Touka did the same.

"Alright, let's see how much you've improved." The older man said as he also manifested an ukaku from his back and launched himself at the two ukaku ghouls. 

* * *

 

After some more reconnaissance Kaneki had finally decided to sit somewhere on a bench, enjoying a book of one of his favourite authors. The weather was cloudy, but it wasn't raining so he didn't mind staying outside a little longer. "It's starting to feel more like I'm looking for a needle in a haystack." He mumbled.

He kept his attention to his book, but from the corner of his eye, he took notice of the cities that passed by. The majority of what he heard was the usual daily chatter you hear in conversations and the fear of the ghouls."

"That investigator went missing I heard, I think he became the victim of a ghoul!"

"What's going to become of us? Even the investigators aren't safe from them. "

"Let's look it from the bright side, there were more kills in the past. People didn't dare to go out for long. All those dangerous ghouls, there used to be at least 20 kills a day on the news and now we have at least they find one body within a week or two."

The white haired man shut his book, as he decided that he had heard enough. The man stood up and headed towards his home, but stopped when he spotted some strands of blue, further up and the two sibling walking quietly, both covered in bruises and from their expressions, Ayato was getting scolded by his sister. Kaneki continued his way towards his home; an idea popped up. "Maybe there is a way..."

Upon entering his home, he noticed a letter on his doormat. The man frowned as he picked it up and eyed it carefully on his way to the living room. He sat quietly by his table and opened it carefully. Scanning its content and let out an amused sigh. "Talk about luck. He mumbled as he went to his room to change, leaving the note on the table.

23.59 PM 16th ward, northern abandoned building. 

* * *

 

After their training, Ayato and Touka sat in a café, wrapped under some bandages due to the beating they got from Yomo, enjoying their day off with some coffee and her homework, or at she least tried to, since she wasn't the smartest and there were quite a lot of subjects that seemed to hate her. Ayato didn't seem to do any better, but then again, he didn't even put any effort in his work.

"You sure got quite the beating." The boy smirked.

"Go, look in the mirror first. We both got defeated. " Touka answered.

Ayato only let out a snort, to show his annoyance. "I seriously don't see the point in homework. Why are you even bothering?"

"Because, unlike you, I don't peek or rely on luck by filling in random answers." The girl pointed out as she took a sip from her drink. "Besides, you are also struggling with some subjects."

A silence befell between the two siblings, after a few minutes they both returned to what they were doing in silence; Touka continuied her literature homework and Ayato scratching on the table to diminish his boredom and watching how his sister tired to focus on the subject they both hated the most.

The scratching sound continued and slowly Touka was getting annoyed by it, until, Ayato suddenly stopped. "Just put the stupid book down, no matter how long you stare at it, it won't make a difference."

"But at least I tried! And maybe if you stop making that annoying sound." The girl gritted her teeth.

A smirk crossed the boy's lips as he repeated the action. "What noise?"

Something snapped inside Touka's head and without thinking she threw her literature at her brother, who obviously evaded the flying object and instead landed on someone else.

"Ouch!"

Ayato burst into a mad laughter, while the girl glared fiercely at her brother before checking up on her victim. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." Her expression because annoyed again when she took note of the olive eyes and white hair. "Are you stalking us or something?" She grumbled.

"If I was, I would let myself get hit with a book." Kaneki answered as he rubbed the back of his head. He glanced at the object. "I've read this. The story is very interesting."

Touka felt herself shuddering at the thought of reading for pleasure. "It's for school. I don't really read much aside from homework."

The man glanced at the girl and back at the book. "If you have trouble, I can help you."

The female ghoul froze. Not only from the unexpected suggestion, but also from the oddness of it and the fact, that she felt like a blow was dealt to her pride. She glanced at the man suspiciously and eyed her brother. His expression had changed from humorous to serious and expressionless. Something popped in the girl's head. "Tell you what, since I can't guess if you really can help me with my homework, how about you help my idiotic brother here instead. My brother has even more trouble with understanding, since he's not even putting any effort into it."

"WHAT?!" Ayato coughed as he almost choked on his coffee. He quickly glared at the girl, who smirked at him.

Kaneki blinked, surprised and glanced at the younger male, who glared fiercely at him. Daring him to accept the offer. "Sure..." He mumbled.

"And if he improves, I'll ask you for your help." The girl shared a glance with her brother again, who seemed to be ready to kill her.

"Alright then, when are you free?" The white-haired male asked.

"Ayato skips his classes often, so the majority of the mornings is fine. But he has to work during the afternoons." She quickly took out a piece of paper and wrote down the acceptable times. "These will be fine."

Ayato is too speechless at the sudden turn of events, so he just stares, blankly and frozen, when he finally blinks it was over. Kaneki took the paper and handed over one to Touka. "Take him tomorrow to my place, my address is on the paper. He turned to Ayato and smiled. "I'll be waiting for you tomorrow." Without further ado Kaneki left.

Touka smiled, satisfied at the turn of events. While she was looking at the paper she felt an intimidating aura coming from her brother.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A surprising turn of events isn't it? I bet no one saw that one coming. Yeah, let's use Ayato for Kaneki and Touka's relationship because:
> 
> 1\. Touka still doesn't trust Kaneki.
> 
> 2\. Ayato needs some discipline in like everything.
> 
> 3\. He finally does something for school.
> 
> 4\. He can keep an eye on Kaneki since he's even more suspicious of the man.
> 
> 5\. He doesn't need to act like the jealous overprotective brother that is getting on her nerves.
> 
> and his reaction is hilarious!
> 
> it seriously took me this long to realise that tutoring is the only option for those two, aside from one coffee date Touka still owes Kaneki. Not that she'll ever bring it up. XD
> 
> I had another name for the chapter, but I decided that, after the change I made, it wouldn't fit that will.
> 
> Now we have gotten a very good glimps about the current lives of the main characters, which means the introduction arc is almost finished! I can, at least, tell you that when it's finished, it's going to be with a bang! Yup, I'm gladly planning the next arc already, since it's going to be a little less happy and funny and all, as more things come to light while Kaneki and Touka's relationship keeps growing.
> 
> I will probably revise all the chapters one time to check if I have left any spelling and grammar errors. I don't know when yet since I'm not in the mood for revising the chapters.


	6. Tutoring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the late update. I posted this chapter on FF, but I totally forgot to post ith ere too. Beter late than never they say, right?
> 
> Original update: 11-17-2015

"Why the fuck did you do that?!" Ayato growled angrily, slamming the door of their apartment the moment they got in. "As if I need any fucking tutor! Now you just chain me to that guy! Are you fucking insane?!"

Touka bit the inside of her cheeks. She knew this was coming, his constant nagging and bitching about how he'll make her regret, throwing him into this shit. But Ayato kind of needed it, not kind of, he really NEEDED it, he hardly went to class and only passed his tests due to flukes. His grades really weren't to be proud of and someone needed to keep an eye on that suspicious white-haired ghoul. No one would be better for the job than her unsocial, distrustful brother. Also, she didn't want to do it herself since her free time was too precious, it was killing three birds with one stone. And as last, it was payback for annoying her on purpose back at the café. Revenge is so sweet.

"Have you been listening to anything I said?!"

"Geez, relax! Aren't you constantly threatening him to stay away? And look, now you can keep an eye on him whenever you want, no need to waste time on a human tutor or more nagging from your teachers. As long as you perform well they don't give a shit about you, scaring away everyone."

The boy's glare didn't soften any bit. "I swear you're going to regret this."

The girl had no idea how her brother would do it since this only gave her more benefits, but she'd wait and see... and beat him up afterwards. "Suit yourself, but you are going. At least, you're starting to spend your time on more useful things."

"Don't start playing the holy saint out of nowhere! You're no better than me!"

"Yes, but I'm better at hiding it." The female ghoul replied as she allowed a snicker escape her lips. She went over to her bedroom, turning off her brother's cursing and shouts. Closed the door and collapsed on her bed. Finally some peace and justice on her part.

She collapsed on her bed and stared, wondering how strange this day turned out to be. Worrying about Ayato's attitude, she wouldn't be surprised if the boy would insult his new tutor various times before he gets tired. Touka decided to close her eyes and listen to what her brother was up to. Her sharp senses picked on his grumbling and complaining. A smirk formed on her cheeks. She was sure that she'd enjoy the first day of his tutoring. Aside from the messy way the new year started, she finally felt like things were returning to the same old peace. Like that, she allowed her mind to drown into unconsciousness and entering the realm of dreams. 

* * *

20th ward CCG branch.

It had been a few weeks since he arrived and it really felt good to be back. Not much seemed to have changed during his absence.

"1rst class Amon-san?! Great to see you back in Tokyo! How was your vacation?" Bureau investigator, Nakajima Yasunori greeted.

Amon Koutaro, 27 years old. A very tall man with short black hair and muscular built a ghoul investigator who used to take care of the 7th ward. After a month vacation, forced upon him by the higher ups he was assigned to the 20th ward. He graduated from a young age and reached first class in merely a few years. He was partnered with Mado Kureo before his promotion and achieved many things during their partnership. Many colleagues admire him for his strength and willpower, a perfect example for the junior investigators. They would often compare him with the CCG's Shinigami, Arima Kishou.

"Nakajima-san, it's been a while. It's a pleasure to see you again." The tall man replied.

"Where did they send you?" Nakajima asked.

"... The coast of South America..."

"South America?!" He grinned. "I heard the ladies there are very lovely."

"I'm not sure, I don't speak Spanish or Portuguese."

"What a waste, you could have gotten yourself a girlfriend."

"I don't have time for relationships." Amon sighed. "I've heard that Takashi-san has gone missing?"

"Yes, last time I've seen him was a few weeks ago, at that time he was completely set on hunting down the ghoul siblings," Nakajima answered.

"Ghoul siblings?" Amon wondered as he took a file from his desk and scanned through it. In it was all the collected information of the ghouls who have received the most attention in the 20th ward. "The sibling ghouls? Those are the ghouls who appeared a few years ago and created quite some trouble in the ward, right?"

"Yes, they've become less active, but when they are, it's never pleasant. The cases may be less, but it's the same amount of bloodshed. Takashi-san had run into them some time ago, but they escaped."

"Any specifications about those ghouls? Gender, age, kagune type?"

"From Takashi-san's description they were pretty young, they didn't bring out their kagune during the encounter, but based on the lack of traces in the previous cases, we believe they're ukaku type, it's not confirmed yet. Their genders are unknown, they were both wearing long coats and from Takashi-san's description and probably wigs too."

Amon frowned. "They're clever. What about their masks?"

"According to Takashi-san's report, they were wearing hoodies and scarves to mask their faces."

"They were probably caught off guard during that time." The large man frowned. "This is troublesome. We don't have any leads to make a proper profile." He mumbled. "Is it their habit to work together during hunts? Have you found any evidence that they're related?"

"Nothing had been confirmed as of yet, however, based on the traces left behind at previous incidents, there was a match of about 53%, which means that the ghouls are probably siblings."

Amon nodded and sighed. "I see. It's still not enough evidence to start a proper investigation and considering their low body count and the lack of leads, I'd suggest you focus on the more active ghouls first. We can leave the sibling ghouls for when we have more information on them. He sat down on his chair and let out a sigh. He got back only seconds ago and his work was already filled with unsolved cases.

Nakajima nodded and returned to his task, leaving his colleague with checking the files and the new job the headquarters had assigned him to. "The 20th ward..." 

* * *

The next morning was grey and cloudy, not a single raindrop was falling from the sky. Touka was, partly grateful for that. The bad thing was, now she had nothing to focus, except for Ayato's grumbling so and continuous complaining about his sister's 'low blow' as he would place it. It was a good thing he wasn't putting a scene like he did hours ago when she woke him up.

"Just be obedient for once and listen to what that guy says," Touka commented. "And don't start asking him weird questions or throw any insults."

She heard her brother snorting behind her. Apparently he switched over to the silence treatment. Not that it would help much. She stopped abruptly, which resulted in Ayato bumping into her because he wasn't paying much attention.

"We should go to Uta afterwards to get our masks repaired." She announced softly.

"We could have gone yesterday." The boy mumbled.

"Work, education. Do you want me to continue?"

The blue-haired boy shook his head as they continued their walk. "I still don't trust that guy. Those who put up a good face are the most dangerous."

"Then, keep a close eye on him during your tutoring sessions. It's as easy as that."

"And is that why you got me stuck with him?"

The two arrived at the address Kaneki had given them. It was a normal looking apartment building near the commercial district. Touka rang the bell while Ayato just shuffled his foot awkwardly, still not planning to hide his reluctance. Not soon later the door opened, revealing a half-dressed Kaneki, who had been busy with drying his hair.

"I'm sorry for my appearance, I was very busy this morning."

"Sure," The female ghoul answered non-gallantly. Being already used to her brother's indecent habits. "Here's your victim, I should warn you that he loses interest very quickly when it comes to school or any other thing else that's human related. So, keep a close eye on him. Also, he loves to use his foul mouth, so don't be surprised if he starts cussing." The girl commented as her brother shot her a glare for the insult.

"When I come out of the shower half naked you start nagging at me like no tomorrow. But when someone else does it you act like nothing happened."

"It's his house, his rules, also, he's older than you and not living with a woman."

"Women? Which one?" The boy smirked, earning a punch and a glare from his sister.

"You can start with literature first. He hates that the most." Touka suggested as she turned back towards Kaneki. "Sorry that he has to be such a pain. He's just a brat who has never learnt to respect others."

"Look who's talking." The boy grumbled softly under his breath.

"I heard that."

Kaneki let out a chuckle. "It's alright, the majority of us are like that at his age."

Touka only nodded as she made her leave. "Well, see you later brat."

After glaring at his sister, the boy turned his tutor. "Just because she dragged me into this doesn't mean I haven given any approval for this stupid session."

The man blinked as the younger male walked reluctantly inside. Another chuckle escaped his lips. "Well, this is going to be interesting." 

* * *

A few glances were aimed at the young teen who entered Anteiku, humming as if something good happened to her, in a way it did. Irimi raised her eyebrows questioningly at her younger colleague while Enji and Nishiki shared glances.

"What's with the humming? Did you finally beat some kid up who pissed his pants afterwards?" Nishiki teased.

"Try whatever you want, your shitty comments can't get me today." The girl answered while she took a seat.

"Did Touka-chan finally get a boyfriend?" Enji chuckled.

Touka didn't answer as Irimi came with black coffee for the girl. The blue-haired teen took it eagerly with a sip while continuing her humming.

"Nishiki-kun, do you think what I think it is?" Enji whispered alertly.

"Her rebellious habits have finally affected her brain?"

The older ghoul shook his head.

"She hid her head?"

Another shake.

"She's sick?"

Again the male shook his head. "She is probably in love!"

"... Maybe you're the one who hit his head."

Enji kept on rambling while Irimi sighed in amusement and Touka stared at the two.

"They seem to be very engrossed in their fantasy." The black-haired woman chuckled.

"Just let them, you know how stupid guys can be."

"So, Ayato has..."

"Yup."

"And you're not even a bit worried about his outbursts? Knowing him, he won't be quiet when you pick him up."

"I'm used to it besides, I can worry about it later." The teen answered nonchalantly as she took another sip from her coffee.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"To the fullest." The girl answered with a smile.

Right at that moment, Yomo came in, silencing all the workers of the shop, along with him was someone, which made Touka scowl the minute she saw the man's face.

"Correction, there's one thing that can get me today. What the fuck do you want Tsukiyama?"

"What a cold way to greet me Kirishima-san and here I have taken the opportunity to come all the way here for a personal greeting. My feelings are disgraced. Peniblé!"

While by most people he would be described as a model, to Touka he was an annoying bug that kept buzzing around and refused to leave and she was not the only one.

"As if a crazy like you has feelings." Nishiki snorted.

"Yomo-san, why did you bring a guy like him here?" The girl asked.

The silver-haired man turned his head slightly towards the teenager. "He has information for Yoshimura."

The group glanced quietly as the two men went upstairs, leaving the rest curious for the sudden visitor.

"You think something happened?" Enji asked.

"Who knows," Irimi answered. "He never shows up here without a reason. Like last time with Touka-chan and Ayato-kun."

Touka only snorted in response. In a way, it was good that the boy wasn't here at that moment.

"Speaking of Ayato-kun," Enji commented. "Where is he?"

"Tutor classes." Irimi and Touka answered simultaneously. 

* * *

"Thank you for coming here all the way." Yoshimura greeted as he closed the door. "Please sit down."

Tsukiyama nodded as he took a seat, picking up the coffee, which Yoshimura had prepared for the man. He breathed in the harmonic scent. "The coffee here truly is one of a kind. I can't understand how it's possible to have such a magnificent shop in the streets were all kinds of distasteful persons come."

Yoshimura smiled. "It's the idea of my customers' smiles and their satisfaction by coming here, that's what makes it worth it. You'll come to understand one day."

The ghoul took a sip from his cup. "Well then, about yesterday's incident. According to my informant, there have been no real casualties that should make anyone worried, but the fact that the doves have been attacked on their own turf makes it unsettling. As far as I know. Nothing has been revealed to the public. They don't want the humans to panic, it would also be troublesome for us. Well, not that it will give me any trouble."

Yoshimura nodded. "Do you know the identity of the culprit and the motive?"

Tsukiyama moved slightly, crossing his leg overeat the other and placed his hand on his forehead as to show as if he was thinking in an overly dramatic way. "My informant could strangely enough not discover much. Some of the stored archives have been forced open, but nothing out of the ordinary, the thing they were looking for was probably not there."

The manager frowned in concern. "I see... It's disappointing, but thank you anyway. You've helped us quite a lot."

"Merci, it's the least I can do. Now, I shall take my leave." The purple-haired man stood up and made his way towards the door. "Thank you very much for the coffee, it was delightful like always."

A smile crept on the old man's face. "You're welcome Tsukiyama-kun. Also, next time could you please choose your victims a bit further away from the shop? I don't want a decline in customers because of their fear of becoming your next meal."

"I promise it won't happen anymore."

The man walked down the stairs, meeting the glaring faces of Touka and Nishiki. "Au revoir Kirishima-san, please give your brother, my greetings, I'd love to have another delightful, 'date' with you two and Nishio-kun, I'll be looking forward to our next meeting.

Touka made a gagging noise as she stuck her finger in her mouth, showing her disgust without any shame and Nishiki gave him the finger. Both happy that the pest, known as the Gourmet, finally disappeared from their sight.

"You guys really seem to be on good terms with him," Irimi commented sarcastically. "Well, I can understand Touka-chan's disdain, but Nishiki-kun."

"Shittyama tried to eat his girlfriend once or twice," Touka explained.

"Well, that explains a lot," Enji mumbled as he rubbed his chin.

Nishiki just scoffed and returned to his duty. It was one of the few times where he hoped that Ayato was there because he wouldn't mind breaking a few rules just to get back at the man.

Yoshimura and Yomo finally appeared when the purple-haired man left the café, making the other ghouls halt their conversation and look at their boss patiently. "We have to be very careful from now on." The old man announced.

"Tsukiyama-kun has informed me that there has been an incident at the CCG's office." Touka was about to open her mouth, but the manager silenced her, not wanting to be interrupted yet. "We don't know about the details yet, nor why someone would do something so reckless." He continued. "But we can be certain that it has been the work of ghouls. They haven't leaked anything about this to the press to prevent any panic growing within the inhabitants. But it will probably appear on television soon."

"Any idea of what those guys were after?" Nishiki asked.

"We don't know. Their archives have been ransacked, but according to Tsukiyama-kun, nothing was missing."

"Why would someone want to break into the doves' archives of the most peaceful and boring ward of all?" Touka mumbled.

The old ghoul shot a quick glance at the girl, before turning to the rest. "I have no clue, anyway, everyone please be careful, they'll probably send more investigators from the nests to this ward."

The blue-haired teen let out a sigh. "Ayato is not going to like this." She muttered. 

* * *

While Touka was drowning her thoughts with worry about the future of the ghouls of the 20th ward, Ayato had his thoughts full with something completely different. Since the moment Ayato arrived at Kaneki's place, the boy paid the least bit of attention to his tutor, often lay interrupting the older ghoul with grinding and complaints.

"This is stupid, why he hell would anyone care what some dead person wrote a hundred years ago?"

"Because it's part of the culture and history of this country and this novel came out in 1958. It's not as old as you think."

"Who the heck cares?! Some story an old delusional man wrote while he was still alive about human's greed and practically saying hat they're no better than us ghouls. Even a cat can do it! It's not like people will ever ask what books you've read in your life! This shit is completely meaningless!"

Ayato and Kaneki had been busy with the same book for over an hour, The sea and Poison by Shūsako Endō. It tells the story of a doctor who participated in medical experiments with American soldiers. The experiments involved the discovery of how much lung tissue can be removed, how much saline solution, and how much air can be injected into the blood before death occurs. The findings would help in improving the treatment of tuberculosis.

The story was a well known literal work worldwide that would question the deeds of humanity, but Ayato had no interest in it whatsoever.

"I'm surprised you're able to read at all, with your reluctance to learn." The white-haired make mused as he gave the boy a questionable look.

"That's because that stupid old man forced me too, and how else am I up to date with any dove or ghoul related issues in the newspaper. Don't take me for some dumb idiot!"

Ayato glared fiercely at Kaneki, but he just brushed it off as if he was taunted by a small animal.

"Literature is not boring nor stupid if you analyse the stories careful you can find meaningful messages. A story in its whole always sends a message to the reader and it tells a lot about the author. It's not only Japanese literature but literature all over the world, you also learn about the cultures of other countries through reading, which can be helpful if you want to hide among humans."

The ghoul took out another book and handed it over to the younger boy.

"I think you'd enjoy this one. It's a book from the famous novelist Takatsuki Sen. The themes are dark and it's delicately written, but even in universities they recommend her works."

Ayato stared suspiciously at the book. "If universities recommend it, why are you suggesting it to me? I'm still in high school."

"It's just a feeling I have."

"I don't read for fun."

"You never know. Just give it a try."

After a few seconds of gazing suspiciously at the book, Ayato finally took it. "Monochrome Rainbow?"

"It's a couple of short stories. It's easier to read because they all have a plot of their own."

"Why are you doing this?" The blues haired teen asked.

"Well, I've read it already a few times and I don't mind lending it to you for a couple of days..."

"That's not what I mean, dumbass! Why are you helping me? I have no relation to you, nor do you owe me anything, not that I'd ever choose tutoring as means for payback. But no sane person would offer to help a random stranger."

"Ah, well, I guess it's to repay your sister for helping me out."

Ayato's eyes narrowed. "Just because she showed you the way?"

"There aren't many people who show hospitality to a stranger, especially ghouls. You and your sister may be not the most civilised ghouls out there, but there are many that are worse." Kaneki explained as he scratched his chin.

Ayato still wasn't convinced, but he figured it was all he would get for an answer. "How stupid." He muttered. The boy got up and walked towards the hallway.

"Where are you going? We're not done yet." Kaneki called after him.

"I'm going to take a leak!"

"The bathroom is the other way."

The teen halted, he evaded The white-haired male's gaze, refusing to show any embarrassment and headed towards the bathroom. Kaneki turned his attention back or the table. He looked through Ayato's notebook, only to find out that the boy hadn't written anything in it aside from a few doodles and insults. Touka wasn't kidding when she said that Ayato didn't spend any effort. His notebooks did not even contain one word related to any of the subjects he had.

A slight smile of amusement crept on Kaneki's face. "We'll have to make some changes."

Not soon after Ayato stepped out of the bathroom. His hands in his pockets as he reluctantly returned to the table he and Kaneki had been using.

"Did you wash your hands?" Kaneki asked immediately after Ayato sat down.

"Geez, are you my fucking mom? I have enough with my stupid sister nagging at me all the time! I'm not a child!"

"Technically, you still are and this is my house."

The boy scoffed before he answered. "I'm not some stupid hobo, I understand the concept of hygiene!"

Kaneki ignored the comment and shove the supposed to be 'notebook' in front of the boy. Unlike before the notebook delectably filled with sentences and word Ayato was sure he had never seen before. Words with meanings, sentences with examples, explanations, all neatly ordered. "Since you haven't been very cooperative, we're going to try a new method." The White-haired teen explained. "I've already written a view things that will help you with your studies. You have to revise them every night and make sure to take notes during your classes too because I plan to revise that too. Whenever you have to read a new book, you'll write down the main characters, their goals, characterisation, personal development, the core of the story and hidden messages."

Ayato made a face of disgust. "Hell, no! There's no fucking way I'm going to bother with that shit! The teachers don't bother me with my grades, so why should I bother doing anything more! It's not like all this human shit is going to make my life any easier!"

"No it wouldn't, but you would appear more convincing in the eyes of humans and they wouldn't view you as a delinquent."

The ukaku ghoul grumbled and looked away. He definitely had no intention of cooperating.

"I really hoped we could come to a compromise." Kaneki let out a sigh. "But, it appears that I don't have much choice now..."

Feeling the sudden change in the atmosphere, Ayato turned around, confused. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like that would happen next. 

* * *

At exactly six, Touka rang the doorbell. Aside from the sudden news and the unwanted guest at Anteiku, the day was very peaceful. No annoying customers, no drop of rain had fallen and Nishiki only annoyed her at the minimum. It was a peace she rarely experienced and had enjoyed to the fullest and now it was time to pick up her brother from as she would call it, his 'babysitter'.

A few seconds later Kaneki opened the door.

"Hey, I came to pick up my useless brother. I hope he wasn't that much of a pain." Touka greeted.

"Don't worry. He has been very reluctant, but we were able to make a compromise."

The teen raised her eyebrows. "Really? A compromise with Ayato of all people."

The white-haired male scratched his chin. "Yeah, it wasn't easy. But at least, I was able to get him to pay attention." He turned back towards the hall. "Ayato-kun, your sister is waiting."

After a while, the blue-haired teen appeared with his books and coat. He walked slowly towards his sister's side, but oddly enough, he didn't give any greeting at all. Touka glanced suspiciously at her brother.

"Hey, have you forgotten to greet me?"

The boy was unresponsive, his expression was covered by his bangs, making it impossible to see.

"What the fuck did you do to him to make him this quiet?"

"Nothing much. It's not uncommon for ghouls his age to be rebellious, even I have been in that phase. I just applied the a method that's similar to what I had to go throughIn order to become more obedient."

The female ukaku ghoul decided that she did not want to know what it was that made Ayato so silent. Since he had no wounds or any signs of physical abuse, she concluded that it couldn't be that bad, at least as long as he behaved better in public.

"Alright, thanks for your help. I guess I'll bring him next week around the same time?"

A smile crept on Kaneki's face. "Sure, I'll see you two next week them."

"Get moving zombie! I don't want to miss my favourite show!"

Touka quickly pushed Ayato and began to drag the boy back to their home. She quickly stopped and turned back when she realised something.

"Ah, you should be careful the next few days! It seems like someone or a group broke into the Doves' office. They will probably send more doves to this ward to investigate."

The white-haired male blinked in surprise. "Someone broke into their office?"

"Yeah, it's not even confirmed why they did that. Maybe it was some stupid game. Some drunk or someone who believes to be a big shot. I don't see what's to get from the dullest ward in Tokyo. It will probably appear on television soon."

"Well, thank you for the warning."

"Don't bother, it's the least I could do."

Without looking back again, Touka continued to drag her brother away like he was a sack of potatoes. Kaneki watched the two siblings until they were out of sight. He closed the door and stayed silent for a while. A small smirk appeared on his face.

"For being the dullest ward in Tokyo, it has quite some good connections for information gathering. To receive information that quickly, Anteiku really lives up to its fame..." 

* * *

By the time Touka and Ayato arrived at their apartment, the youngest of the two was becoming more responsive.

"Ugh..."

"You're finally back from dreamland?"

The boy got up slowly. He noticed he was lying on their couch, a pillow under his head and the television on. Touka was sitting leisurely on the ground.

"So, how was your first tutoring session?" The girl taunted.

"That guy is a sadist, a monster, I warn you, stay away from him!"

Touka almost let out a chuckle. "Did he find out about your bird or fish fetish or something? Or were you forced to read a book about art? Don' tell me you got your ass kicked or something." A smirk appeared on her face.

"As if I let someone threaten me that easily. I'm no weakling!"

"Then what was it?"

The blue-haired male looked away from his sister, refusing to meet her eyes.

Touka raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What?"

"... It was goat cheese..."

"Huh?"

"He forced me to smell it! Practically shoved it up my nose! Seriously, do you have any fucking idea how nasty that smells?! It's one of the worst things humans can eat!"

The room became quiet, only the sound of the TV was audible. Ayato lowered his head, all too sure what was coming next.

"Ahahahahahahahahahah! You were forced to smell cheese!? What kind of an idiot are you?! Seriously, the infamous Kirishima Ayato, beaten by a piece of cheese! Ahahahahaha! Gosh, even Shitty Nishiki isn't that pathetic!"

Touka allowed herself to fall to the ground as she clutched her stomach, due to her laughing fits, which went on for a while and the only thing Ayato could do was glare and grumble. His patience grew short as the laughter kept going on and even became louder.

"Will you shut up?! You've had your fun, but let's see how you will react when that happens to you!"

"N-not a chance, u-unlike you... I-I know how to behave in front of s-strangers. Hahahaha!" Touka choked out between her laughter.

"Ow really? Is That why you've been scolded by old man Yoshimura and Yomo so often." Ayato retorted sarcastically.

The ukaku ghoul finally halted her laughing fit as she got up from the ground. "Well, if I remember correctly, you also have to listen to their lectures over and over again."

The siblings both glared at each other. None willing to break eye candy net to until their attention switched to the news.

"There has been a break-in at the CCG's office of the 20th ward. While nothing was reported stolen, the archives appear to have been ransacked. There have been no leads about the perpetrator nor motive for the crime. No further information has been revealed as of yet."

"Breaking into the Doves' territory? Why would anyone have any interest in that shitty place?" Ayato mumbled in confusion.

"Ah, now that I remember. Shitty-yama came to Anteiku today telling Yoshimura-san about the break in. Hunting would be less easy."

The boy glanced at his sister. "Do you really think they would send more Doves from the nest? Ghouls don't break into their place just to create a mess. Besides, they didn't mention any deaths either."

"Then do you think humans would do it? They don't even have the ability to stand up against those from the nest. Aside from killing them for revenge, information is the other thing that the Doves hold. Information about past cases. They went through their archives, so that means they have been looking for something. Not that there is anything useful. Anteiku is not on their radar, they don't even know we exist and the only thing in this ward we should be wary about is that Shitty-yama and that idiot Nishiki, but he's not that much of a big deal."

"... What about that dove you killed the other day?" Ayato pointed out."

"I didn't kill him. Besides, we took care of his body, so it should take a while until you'll find him."

"But aren't we also high on their hit list." A smirk appeared on the boy's face.

"Hah, looking for us is the same as looking for an invisible needle in a haystack. They have no clues, we don't use our kagune for the kills, they haven't seen our masks, they have nothing. They can search all they want, they won't be able to find us easily."

Ayato glanced out of the window. While they could continue their lives like normal. The news about the strange break in did shake the whole ward. They knew that things wouldn't go as peacefully as they used to. 

* * *

As the sky kept darkening, a cold rain shower began to fall over Tokyo. Citizens rushed home as quickly as possible. While rain washes away many secrets, it also evenly new ones.

"?"

"Hurry up, if we don't return home soon, mom will be mad... What's wrong?"

"... Nii-san, look, look! I think I found something."

The older brother looked curiously over the little girl, who was jumping happily.

"Be careful! You can catch a cold you know that."

"But look, someone must have lost this!"

"An... identity card? From who is it?"

The little girl looked curiously at the card. "Uh... It's..."

She glanced curiously at the card, having too much trouble to reconsider the kanji. Her brother smirked.

"Let me see." He took the card from his sister. "Takashi Satou... What kind of adult is so irresponsible to lose this?"

"Let's give it to the police tomorrow!"

"Nnn!"

While the two children continued their walk home, they did not notice a pair of eyes watching them from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning I had no idea what I should use as title for this chapter. I changed it often because I thought it didn't fit. In the end, I decided that I don't need any deep meaning or mystery sounding title. Something easy and direct can also do the trick. And we all love Ayato so much, don't we?

**Author's Note:**

> The chapter 2 to 4 will be up soon. Thanks for reading.


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